[Emperor1]

Yesterday I was winching someone's ATV out that partially went thru the ice on a frozen lake. Only their front wheels were still holding it from going thru.

In winching it took several long and very hard pulls to get the ATV to get over the edge of the ice.

After the multiple winch pulls I rode back to our house uneventfully. 15 minutes later I went out for a ride and upon start-up the DPS indicator came on and I had no power steering. I went for a brief ride anyway. After returning I let the machine sit for half an hour and when i went to put it away, on start-up the indicator was out and the DPS was working properly.

My question is that by pulling hard with the winch while the engine was only at idle, could I have run the battery down far enough that the DPS would go off line until the battery recharged somewhat or is that non-related?

 

[Wolv]

i think you've hit the nail on the head. The winch is wired directly to the battery - and is capable of pulling 50 amps when in use.. yes, 50 amps. That's why the wires are so large.

Your long hard pulls are most likely the culprit and simply riding it around will recharge your battery. Next time, if it's a long hard pull, keep the RPMs over 4,000, or use a snatch block to cut the load in half.

I'd not give it a 2nd thought unless you have that DPS light come on again without winching.

 

[Emperor1]

Thank you for the response Wolv.

I'll give update tomorrow when I go riding again.

 

[stovepiper]

I hope thats all. I could write a novel on my DPS woes.

 

[Emperor1]

I rode about 10 miles yesterday. Everything seemed fine. I hope it continues this way.